


I Needed To Find Me

by maelstromdeparture



Series: Spirit of the Sea [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Drinking, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Magic, Mentioned Big Bang Ensemble, Mentioned GOT7 Ensemble, Mentioned NCT Ensemble, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Pillaging, Pirates, Plundering, Violence, general pirate activities, i don't know how to tag, there's probably more tags, thief changbin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:14:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26558743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maelstromdeparture/pseuds/maelstromdeparture
Summary: Before the Levanter was a pirate ghost story, Chan was a story of rebellion and hope for young sailors of every kind. Chan didn't mean to be. But a strong sense of justice and no ability to remain in one place for long led him on some rather interesting adventures as he waited to meet his crew. Finding Jisung in a Spanish town was only the beginning. By the time the Levanter comes into being they're a crew of three and the world is their oyster.this is the prequel to I Feel the Light and is how Chan, Jisung, and Changbin came to be a pirate crew in the first place
Series: Spirit of the Sea [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927246
Comments: 7
Kudos: 48





	I Needed To Find Me

**Author's Note:**

> this isn't edited yet as per usual 
> 
> there is violence and piratey things though it's not as bad as last time. most of the violence is off screen so to speak. 
> 
> WARNINGS!!!!!  
> \- there's some mentioned abuse   
> \- there's a little mention of selling   
> \- some implied kidnapping   
> \- typical pirate violence
> 
> disclaimer. i have never written Big Bang before. I know nothing about them as a group. if i spelled name's wrong i'm sorry please let me know so it can be fixed. if you don't like the ship name, please suggest a better one because it was the only song title i found on google that i thought would work :\ 
> 
> i think that's everything important so enjoy! :)

The crew of the Harmony was mostly young. Most of them fresh off the shore, recruited to the navy. The Harmony was where the newest and youngest were sent off to, in order to learn, they would pick up orphans in the port towns as well when they stopped, the crew constantly changing out as others moved higher up or simply disappeared. It was considered one of the easier ships to be part of though, it had a surprising number of sailors that would go unaccounted and would later be unfindable, more often than not orphans that had been picked up from the docks of bays. Despite most of them being frightened and far from home and the captain himself not being very kind or forgiving, the crew was friendly and there was a constant sense of hope. Chan was the newest and one of the youngest aboard the ship, they had picked him up off of a sinking merchant ship. The captain having taken pity on him. Chan was friendly but quiet, he didn’t speak of his past in anyway, he was one of the best sailors on the ship despite being one of the youngest, and often helped the others when they needed it. So the crew loved working alongside him, which is how he found himself sat high up in the rigging working with three younger crew mates, and Wilson one of the older crew mates, come over from The Euripides to help teach the younger recruits. Wilson knew more old sea stories than anyone else, and was full of myths and legends of the sea and the land alike.

“Sir,” said Mark hesitantly, he was younger than Chan by a couple years and one of the youngest on board. He had clearly been on the wrong side of the captain and the quartermaster in the past and often was nervous to ask any sort of question.

“No need for that, Mark, no one important can hear us up here, so doesn’t matter much, now does it?” asked Wilson. “What can I do for you?”

“James, says you know all the tales there are,” said Mark.

“That I do,” agreed Wilson nodding, “any in particular you’re thinking of?”

“Carl is supposed to move on to the next ship when we dock,” said Luke speaking up. “One of the privateer ships.”

“Ah, so you want to know of pirates,” said Wilson.

“James said you knew of the Son of the Sea,” said Mark softly, voice barely a whisper. Wilson straightened slightly and looked about them pin pointing where the higher ranked officers were.

“Suppose I do,” said Wilson, “suppose I tell it. But it’s the sort of tale that only those that know it can tell and only to those that need it. A sort of hope no one should ever need, a sort of promise of better things that no one should ever find themselves in the position of needing. But should a sailor find themselves in a crew unworthy of them, under a captain the sea finds unreasonable, the sea will send her son to be the reckoning of that crew. Many captains, crews, and ships, have found themselves with the son of the sea on board, will find themselves ruined, with their crewmates pulled from them and their ships at the bottom of the ocean. The sea doesn’t discriminate, merchants, navy, traders, slavers, privateers, pirates, treasure hunters, all have found themselves at the mercy of the son of the sea.”

“So it’s a story to keep sailors happy,” said Luke bitterly.

“It’s the truth,” said Wilson shaking his head, “believe me. If captains could keep the tale from spreading they would, but they cannot. It is not a story to keep sailors happy, it’s to keep bad crews scared, to give sailors hope, kids like you four.”

“What’s the tale,” said Mark, “how can he be the son of the sea?”

“They say he was born of a sea goddess, no father but the waves he was raised on, sailor from birth, the spirit of the ocean and all that call it home lives inside of him,” said Wilson.

“What goddess?” asked Chan absently.

“Pardon?” asked Wilson surprised to be interrupted.

“You said he’s born of a sea goddess, which one?” asked Chan, “Calypso, Namu, Nanshe, Tiamat, Bangputys, Li Ban, Nehalennia, Nix, Ran, Amphitrite, Ceto, Brizo, Cymopoleia, Doris, Eidothea, Eurybia, Galene, Leucothea, Thalassa, Triteia, Salacia, Hatepuna, Tsovinar, Varuna, Vedenemo, or any of the others. There are thousands of sea goddesses. Which do you as a sailor of the Britsih Navy believe the Son of the Sea comes from?”

“How do you know so many?” asked Matthew frowning at Chan, “you ain’t even from Britain, and we pulled you off a merchant ship.”

“All of them I suppose,” said Wilson thoughtfully, “no one culture claims the Son of the Sea, so I suppose that no one sea goddess can be his mother. Be that as it may, he is the son of a sea goddess and belongs to the sea. The sea lives in him. They say his hair is like the ocean and his eyes are like storms. That he stands brave in the face of all danger, both violence and the sea. He boards ships as he sees fit, and leaves as he pleases, always moving. It is why captains are always extra cautious while a new crew mate is on board, until they have determined he is not the son of the sea. He has caused more than one mutiny, and more than one ship’s demise. Entire crews have vanished into the mist at his hands.”

“Sounds like an exaggeration,” said Matthew rolling his eyes.

“I’ve met people who have met him,” said Wilson, “crews that have been led through storms they should not have survived by his hands. A boy that can face the end of a pirates pistol and smile. When you find yourself in despair, feel the wind of the sea, know it will turn in your favor, and when you need it the sea will send it’s son to help you.”

“What of pirates?” asked Mark, “I’ve heard tell of pirates. Terrifying ones that the sea itself fears.”

“The sea fears no man,” said Wilson, “never mistake that. What tales concern you, Mark?”

“The Eve, The Epiphany,” said Luke.

“Whiplash,” whispered Mark eyes darting to the horizon. Wilson nodded.

“Aye, the Whiplash,” he said his own eyes darting to the horizon. “The Captain you don’t dare name, should fate take it as a challenge. The captain that braved the Devil’s Eye, has sailed the world twice over, that no privateer can tame, one of the most ruthless and feared pirates of our age, no man left alive in his raids.”

“Dead men tell no tales,” said Chan absently, focused on his work rather than the story.

“That’s true enough,” said Matthew nodding. “Loathe I am to agree with the stranger, but if there are tales, someone has to be alive.”

“I suppose,” said Wilson nodding.

“Less talking more working!” yelled one of the commanders and the five of them echoed their agreement quickly.

“My recommendation boys, keep your heads down, do good work and get on a better ship than the Harmony,” said Wilson once the commander had walked on.

Chan liked working nights in the crows nest, he often volunteered for the night shift and since no one else wanted it the captain would allow it. Which meant Mark knew exactly where to find him. Chan turned to look at him as Mark climbed up into the crows nest with him, shifting to make room for both of them.

“Can’t sleep then?” asked Chan and Mark shook his head.

“I keep waking to one of the drunk men trying to pry my mouth open,” said Mark quietly. “They don’t bother you?”

“Apparently there’s something wrong with me,” said Chan shrugging. “Probably just think you’re an easier target, younger, smaller, and no one to go home too.”

“Apparently we’re exotic,” said Mark scowling and rolling his eyes. Chan chuckled.

“You’re from the colonies,” he said shrugging. “So you wouldn’t know. All the crews you’ve come in contact with are European.”

“There are others?” asked Mark. Chan smirked.

“Of course, you know of them as well,” said Chan he looked at Mark. “One of your parents was Korean. The Korean pirates are the most feared in the world in our time. More so than any others. The pirates that the privateers hunt for four times the amount of money as even the famed Blackbeard himself.”

“How do you know?” asked Mark eyes wide.

“The Whiplash is Korean,” said Chan nodding, “and at least one American Colony and I believe the first mate is Thai.”

“How do you know this stuff?” asked Mark shaking his head. Chan smiled.

“Same way I know how to sail,” said Chan, “I grew up on the sea. You hear every story and learn everything there is to know about the crews and captains that rule it when you’ve sailed that much.”

“Is it true they sailed the Devil’s Eye?” asked Mark.

“Far as I know,” said Chan shrugging.

“Why haven’t you gotten away from sailing?” asked Mark, “you weren’t stuck in the Navy to begin with.”

“I love the ocean,” said Chan nodding turning his face to the wind again, letting it wash over him. “It’s freedom, there’s nothing quite like it. I’ll have a crew of my own someday, a ship of my own. The whole world at my fingertips and a life time of adventure. Can’t imagine anything better.”

“Even on this ship?” asked Mark, “it’s a floating prison, Chan.”

“This ship, yes, I suppose, for you and for me, but not for the ones that want to prove themselves as fine members of the Queen’s Navy,” said Chan shaking his head. “It’s not forever, and it doesn’t have to be. You should get some sleep.”

“I can’t,” said Mark.

“Sleep here,” said Chan, “we’re both small, we fit just fine. I’ll keep watch.” Mark hesitated before nodding and making himself comfortable.

“You’re the only person that matters on this fucked up piece of wood,” whispered Mark and Chan chuckled and ruffled his hair.

“It’ll work out, get some sleep,” said Chan. Mark’s eyes closed and the night fell quiet around them again.

Several weeks later Chan’s on watch again, Mark is helping the cook scrub clean the utensils from the night’s meal and Chan sees a ship on the horizon. The winds change and Chan breathes deep, freedom is in reach once more. The green of the ship’s flag broken by black skull and cross bones, lets him know tonight will be filled with fire. He needed to make sure Mark got out. He watched in silence as the ship grew closer. It wasn’t too long until the man at the helm noticed and yelled for attention, but at that point it was too late. Chan climbed up over the crows nest as they began to be boarded and the deck fell into chaos. It took him no time to get down to deck level and dodging through the chaos to get to Mark. When he got there one of the bigger cook’s boys was holding him by his wrists shoving him in front of him, trying to barter with the pirate in front of him for his life by trading Mark. Mark was fighting him as best he could, but was clearly terrified. Mark saw him first and made eye contact.

“No,” he whispered and a gunshot sounded next to Chan’s head leaving his ears ringing, the man holding Mark fell to the ground dead and Mark screamed as he too hit the ground, scrambling back and away from the pirates as best he could. The pirate behind Chris stepped into the room.

“ _You look stupid in British colors,_ ” he said. “ _He with you then?_ ” Chan nodded and hurried over to Mark to help him up.

“No, no, no, you have to run. Please run,” said Mark trying to shove Chan towards the door.

“Mark,” said Chan, “Mark, calm down. Yuta and Ten won’t hurt us.”

“Pirates,” said Mark, “Chan, Whiplash pirates.”

“Yes, come on, we need to go,” said Chan pulling Mark to his feet.

“ _Hyung’s going to like him, I’ve got a feeling about it,_ ” said Yuta nodding.

“ _Depends on if he’s wanting off this boat or not,_ ” said Ten, “coming or not, kid, make your choice.”

“ _He’s coming,_ ” insisted Chan pulling Mark up to his feet and nodding. “You’re coming. Let’s go.”

“Chan. Chan, that’s treason. They’ll hang us,” hissed Mark letting Chan pull him along following after the two pirates, both of whom wore black and green bandanas.

“ _You’re sure about this, Chan?_ ” asked Yuta looking back at Chan as Ten shot at another man.

“ _I’m sure. He needs you,_ ” said Chan, “ _he’ll fit._ ” Ten nodded.

“ _Tell TY I approved it,_ ” he said. “ _Get on board, you don’t have a proper weapon you’re not staying to fight._ ” Chan nodded and immediately pulled Mark over to the edge, grabbing one of the ropes to swing over to the other ship.

“What the hell are you doing?” demanded Matthew seeing them, shoving a pirate off of him and moving towards them. Chan handed the rope to Mark.

“Jump now, I’m right behind you,” he instructed. Mark jumped, landing on the board the Whiplash and rolling, unable to get to his feet immediately, unused to jumping ships. Chan caught one of the other ropes in one hand as Matthew swung his sword at him. Chan kicked it out of the way and planted one foot firmly on Matthew’s chest sending him stumbling back. Chan climbed up onto the ledge quickly.

“You’ll hang for this,” said Matthew with a growl in his voice. “This is treason you dirty traitor.” Chan smirked at him.

“Can’t be anymore of a traitor than I was when you lot picked me up. Do me a favor and tell Wilson that my mother was not a sea goddess,” said Chan before dropping off the ship, letting gravity do its work to swing him over to the deck of the pirate ship. He landed in a crouch and pulled Mark up to his feet.

“They’ll keep shooting, come on,” said Chan pulling him across the deck to the far side and getting him crouched down behind barrels, relatively protected and pressed in against a young pirate in a green and black bandana, earrings dangling from his ears. The pirate whipped around to look at them startled and started to swing before realizing who they were and stopping.

“ _You bring us another stray?_ ” he asked.

“ _Aye, Haechannie, this is Mark,_ ” said Chan nodding. “ _You lot are perfect for him._ ”

“ _You run that by captain yet?_ ” asked Haechan.

“ _Nope, but Ten-hyung approved,_ ” said Chan, “ _aish, keep firing, we’re getting shot at, Haechannie._ Mark, this is Haechan, he’s your age.” Mark nodded but looked terrified and like he was still panicking.

“ _He doesn’t speak Korean?_ ” asked Haechan.

“ _I don’t think so,_ ” said Chan shaking his head. “ _He’s never acted like he did at least and it would have come up because he knows I’m Korean._ ”

“ _Well, there’s enough English speakers on board he can get by until he picks it up,_ ” said Haechan nodding. The fight is over soon after and pirates are swinging back over. There’s a handful of prisoners corralled down the stairs and the ship is left burning behind them as they take off. Haechan and Chan get Mark up onto his feet and pulled out onto the main deck as everyone else gathers around in a loose circle.

“ _Check in,_ ” called a man wearing a large hat with a feather and a black coat with gold trim. The green sash and green and black bandana that the entire crew wore peeked out from the rest of his outfit, clearly the feared captain of the Whiplash. Mark was trembling, he couldn’t get his body to stop shaking and it didn’t help that the crew ran through what must be a run through of everything that happened quickly, efficiently, and in a language Mark didn’t speak. The crew started to disperse as they gave their reports, all running off to finish up orders or get injuries tended. The captain’s eyes stopped on the two of them and he sighed heavily but smiled slightly at Chan.

“ _Chan-ah, I see you’re back on my ship,_ ” he said, “ _for the love of god I am not dropping you off at a Spanish Military Fort again. We’re headed to Tortuga you’re welcome to stay._ ”

“ _Aye, Captain, I do have a message for you from Captain JB from the Eclipse,_ ” said Chan and the captain nodded. His eyes landed on Mark.

“ _Who are you?_ ” he asked raising an eyebrow.

“Mark, do you want to introduce yourself or do you want me to do it?”

“You’re going to get me killed,” whispered Mark.

“ _This is Lee Mark, he’s from one of the Canadian colonies. Orphaned, forcibly enlisted in the British Navy. They were going to sell him to work on one of the East India Co ships,_ ” said Chan, “ _and members of the crew kept trying to sexually assault him in his sleep. I wasn’t leaving him behind. He’d be a good fit here._ ”

“ _You’re supposed to clear it before you bring strays aboard,_ ” said the Captain frowning deeply, sounding annoyed. Mark fought the urge to grab onto Chan.

“ _I did. Ten-hyung approved,_ ” said Chan. The captain turned to look at his first mate who beamed at him.

“ _He’s cute and he tried to get Channie to run and save himself first. I like him,_ ” said Ten, “ _strong loyalty if you’ve earned it. Yuta likes him too._ ”

“ _He’s a good sailor, has good instincts, knows what he’s doing, but he’s skittish. I don’t know what that captain did to him, but it wasn’t good,_ ” said Chan nodding. The captain nodded.

“You stay,” he told Mark, “Welcome aboard the Whiplash, I am Taeyong. _Johnny, you’re on translator duty until he picks up Korean._ ”

“ _Aye, captain,_ ” agreed Johnny nodding and moving over to introduce himself to Mark quickly. Taeyong finished captain duties quickly and the circle broke up completely. Johnny started giving Mark the quick rundown of how the ship ran and then started on the tour and finding him a bandana to match everyone. Mark looked panicked when Chan patted his shoulder and told him to have fun with Johnny and that he’d be fine, Chan needed to carry on a message to Taeyong. Mark had watched the curly haired boy run across the deck with a grace that really didn’t belong on someone that hadn’t lived years and years on the sea, so Mark should have clued in earlier that Chan was different. Chan caught up with the captain and followed him up the helm.

“ _What do you have for me, Channie?_ ” asked Taeyong taking his hat off and setting it down, his messy bleached hair poking out from under his green and black bandana.

“ _JB is concerned about the The Eve and the Epiphany. Apparently they’ve got a blood feud going on,_ ” said Chan.

“ _Mmm, already over. They settled it quickly. You know Captain Kim hates dragging things like that out,_ ” said Taeyong nodding. “ _What else?_ ”

“ _Word is there’s a witch aboard Medusa,_ ” said Chan and Taeyong raised an eyebrow at that.

“ _A witch,_ ” he said. “ _That’s good to know. We’re cordial with them, but if they have a witch on board now they may believe they’re invincible and decide to go it alone._ _I have information you might like too._ ”

“ _Oh?_ ” asked Chan. Taeyong nodded.

“ _Taeil-hyung had a funny dream about you and seven others a few nights back,_ ” said Taeyong nodding. “ _And one of them was a boy that Chenle said sounded familiar. There’s a boy in Bahia Dolorosa. He sees the future, in some manner, riddles and messy tales, but when he’s spinning yarn he can untangle it and make it make sense. He’s empty inside, they call him the Demon Boy, the Son of the Devil, Prophet of Doom. He needs you. Taeil-hyung says he needs you and you need him, that the wind and the sea are pulling you together._ ” Chan nodded. He knew Taeil well enough to know that you didn’t question the man’s dreams and what he said of the sea and the wind, he was even more in tune to it than Chan was.

“ _Then I need to get to Bahia Dolorosa,_ ” said Chan nodding. Taeyong smirked.

“ _We can drop you off, it’s on our way,_ ” said Taeyong nodding. “ _Always have liked that about you. I don’t have to talk you into believing the crazy shit my crew says._ ” Chan shrugged.

“ _I’m used to getting way crazier shit from way crazier people, myself included,_ ” said Chan, “ _Taeil-hyung knows what he’s on about. If he says I need to pick up a kid in Bahia Dolorosa, then that’s where I’m headed. If we’re about done, I’m going to see if I can get Mark to sleep. Kid’s not slept in days._ ” Taeyong grimaced.

“ _He looks like a solid wind could knock him over,_ ” he said shaking his head. “ _Not sure why Yuta’s so sure I’ll like him._ ”

“ _Cause he’s a lot like you were when you first boarded this ship, hyung,_ ” said Chan shaking his head. “ _That’s why Ten-hyung agreed so fast._ ” Taeyong nodded.

“ _I don’t need to give you the rundown go make sure that kid sleeps,_ ” said Taeyong pointing. Chan nodded and hurried off back down to the main deck and then to below to find Johnny and Mark.

By the time they hit two weeks, they’re docking at Bahia Dolorosa and Chan has talked Mark into staying and giving it a go on the Whiplash and Mark has bonded with Haechan and Johnny and feels safer on the Whiplash than he has anywhere else and wants to give it a try. He still hugs Chan tightly before Chan hurries down to the dock and the Whiplash pulls out into the open ocean. The dock around him breathes out a sigh of relief as the Whiplash pulls away and everyone’s too busy being glad that infamous pirate ship isn’t sticking around to notice the boy that got off it making his way into the town. It takes him several days of asking around to find the Demon Boy, it doesn’t help that Chan’s understanding of Spanish is limited and the town doesn’t want to talk about their dirty secret with outsiders. Still he manages to find the boy. He’s holed up in the back of a store that sells clothing, mostly for colder weather. Chan talks his way into the backroom to talk to their Doom Prophet, layers on as much charm as he can, and makes a plan to hide both of them in the trade ship leaving the dock that night. The store owner is a kind looking woman with a tight bun who smiles at him as she leads him to the backroom. The image of the store owner doesn’t match the image of the tiny boy sitting cross legged on the floor, hunched over a ball of yarn that his fingers are working at tirelessly. They’re rubbed raw from constant use, every joint in his body sticks out, he’s nothing but skin and bones, clearly being starved, his cheeks are sunken in, and there are circles under his eyes so dark they may be permanent, and his eyes aren’t black like the stories around town had been saying, they were a beautiful golden brown that Chan could swear he could see every star in the universe in them. His clothes were thin and dirty and his hair was matted and messy, clearly he wasn’t allowed to take care of himself with basic human rights, worst of all perhaps were the tight manacles chained around each wrist, chaining him to the floor. Chan could feel the anger in him boiling to the surface when the woman informed him that if the boy refused to cooperate or caused him any problems to just pull his wrists over the open flames of the fire pit and heat the manacles, they had found that effective. The woman left them and Chan assessed the room quickly. There was a door leading to the back alley of the store, they would take that, and the manacle locks would be easy to pick for someone who wasn’t locked in them. Chan moved over, crouching in front of the boy.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked. The boy’s eyes darted up confusion in his face.

“I am here,” he said in accented English. “I cannot go anywhere.”

“You can if you want to. Would you like to come with me. I’m leaving tonight,” said Chan. It was worrisome how quickly the boy started nodding given he didn’t even know Chan’s name yet. Chan carefully took both his hands into his and started picking the locks on the manacles. The skin under was scarred deeply and covered in painful burns and rubbing. Chan would have to find a way to get him bandages to help with those. Chan pulled the boy to his feet and then onto his back when it became apparent the boy wouldn’t be able to run on his own.

“Stay quiet,” said Chan, “we need to not get caught or we can’t get out of here.” The boy nodded against his shoulder and his fingers tightened their hold on Chan’s sleeves. Chan snuck them all the way down to the dock and then onto the ship.

“You need to hide, they’ll recognize you,” said Chan quietly looking around for places to hide the boy.

“Why are you doing this?” asked the boy. He sounded exhausted. Chan didn’t have a real answer, other than it felt he was supposed to. He set the boy down and pried open a large box. He pulled the goods inside of it out and then picked the boy back up.

“It’s got enough cracks you’ll be able to breathe,” said Chan, “we’ll get off at the next port, it shouldn’t be too long.” He pried open another box and pulled out some of the blankets inside and gave them to the boy.

“Get comfortable, I need to get rid of all this,” said Chan gesturing to the ground. He was going to dump it over the side of the ship. “I’ll be back with food soon. Stay quiet.” The boy nodded and tugged at the blankets to cover himself. Chan carefully slid the lid of the box back on top and then made sure to mark it empty so no one would come looking inside of it. It took him no time to get the goods dumped over the side of the ship and to sneak into the galley to grab some food. He’d make himself part of the crew once they’d shipped off. Chances were no one would notice a new face on a ship like this one.

Chan learns the boy’s name is Jisung and that no one’s bothered to learn it since he was very young and his mother had died. He sleeps most of the days away while Chan integrates easily and silently into the ship’s crew. Several weeks pass and Jisung wakes up to screaming. The box is dark so he can’t tell what time of day it is, but it sounds like they’re under attack. Footsteps pound around him and he holds tightly to the blanket Chan had given him and squeezes his eyes shut, trying to keep visions from invading his mind and leaving him helpless. The lid of the box moves off and there’s Chan’s curly head appearing at the top of it.

“Come on, Ji, time to go,” he said catching Jisung’s hand and pulling him upright. It takes Jisung a minute to get his legs under him and Chan straps a sword belt around Jisung’s waist as Jisung gets his bearings.

“What’s happening?” asked Jisung looking above them where the deck had descended into chaos.

“Pirates,” said Chan, “ship’s under attack. Grab whatever you can carry that might be valuable and get ready to jump ships.”

“Pirates?” asked Jisung nervously.

“Yes,” said Chan, “don’t worry. You’re safe with me, remember?”

“Okay,” agreed Jisung reaching to tangle his fingers into Chan’s belt. Chan let him, didn’t complain about it or comment on it, just led him over to some of the other barrels and started shoving jewelry and spices into his pockets and Jisung’s. He picked up a pretty necklace with a green tear drop jewel on the end of the chain and dropped it over Jisung’s head.

“There,” he said, “looks like a piece of the ocean in your hands, yeah? Let’s go. We need to jump ship before this one goes down.”

“What about the pirates?” asked Jisung.

“It’s okay,” said Chan leading the way to the top of the ship. Chan pulled him into the shadows and against the wall as several pirates and crew members tumbled down the ladder and into the hold trying to either steal or protect the merchandise. Chan pulled Jisung up the ladder after him and onto the deck and then across a gang plank, dodging pirates and traders alike to get to the pirate ship.

“Sungie, no matter what happens you keep your visions to yourself,” said Chan softly, barely heard over the chaos surrounding them. Jisung nodded quickly.

“We’ll be fine and we’ll jump ship at the next port, keep your head down and stay close,” said Chan and Jisung nodded again. Chan was the only person in the world that hadn’t tried to hurt him or use him and he wasn’t about to question any direct orders from the older boy any time soon. He could tell Chan was nervous about this ship and Jisung was worried, Chan didn’t seem the type to be nervous about anything. Still the older seemed confident, they would be okay. Once the pirates had all rejoined their crew aboard their own ship and they’d started away from the now sinking trade ship the first mate seemed to be in charge of keeping track of who hadn’t come back from the crew and handing out orders. One of the gunners that had seen the two of them come over nudged Chan forward slightly once most of the crew had been given orders and called attention to them. Jisung’s brain finally focused through the panic and he realized the crew was speaking Korean.

“These two came over from that trade ship. Looked like they were looking to jump ship,” said the gunner. The first mate turned to look at the two of them looking them over.

“ _You two don’t look like willing crew on a Spanish trade ship,_ ” he said in Spanish.

“I don’t actually speak much Spanish, sir, Ji, probably does though,” said Chan apologetically and the first mate’s eyebrows raised.

“You’re Korean,” he said. “How did you end up on that ship?”

“I’m not Korean either,” said Chan shaking his head. “Dad was I think, my mum’s British got shipped to Australia, so that’s where I’m from. Ji’s Korean, his parents sold him to a noble in the Spanish port that I picked him up at. We’re looking to get to Tortuga. Captain Kim of Genesis said if I ended up on your ship you’d make sure I got to Tortuga.” The first mate and the gunner that had pointed them out both looked at Chan baffled.

“Kim Jun-K,” said the first mate raising an eyebrow at Chan. “You.”

“If you’d rather I started listing SM alliance captains that would vouch for us I can, but normally people start panicking when I say their names,” said Chan shrugging.

“Well don’t do that. I’m not particularly in the mood to deal with Medusa and I’m sure the captain ain’t either. Come along,” said the first mate gesturing for the two of them to follow. They did and the first mate led them through into the captain’s quarters where he was bent over a map.

“Finished?” asked the captain not glancing up.

“Not quite, captain,” said the first mate, “couple of kids jumped ship.”

“Toss them over the side,” said the captain.

“I think you should talk to them first,” said the first mate, “says he’s got protection from Jun-K on Genesis.” That made the captain look up. He looked Chan and Jisung up and down.

“You have proof of that?” he asked.

“Do you want to risk the entire JYP alliance after you?” asked Chan. The captain smirked.

“Well, he’s certainly got guts. Who are you?”

“Bang Chan,” said Chan, “Jun-K-hyung and JB-hyung have both said that if I ever ended up on your ship you’d make sure I got to one of them or to Tortuga.” The captain sat back looking him over.

“You’re the one they’re calling the Spirit of Freedom, ain’t you? _Son of the Sea, I heard,_ ” said the captain.

“Might be,” said Chan cocking his head. “People say all sorts of things.”

“And I’m assuming your shadow is coming along,” said the captain.

“Yes,” said Chan.

“Your friends with a lot of pirates, kid,” said the captain shaking his head. “You’re going to work if I let you stay.”

“Of course,” said Chan, “I’ll work twice as hard if you leave Ji alone. He’s not a sailor and I haven’t had a chance to teach him yet.”

“Teach him while you’re here, I don’t fancy a run in with a JYP ship at the moment, it’ll take a bit to get to Tortuga, welcome aboard the Ego. Seunghyun, take them below deck, they both look ready to fall over, they start in the morning,” said the captain before turning back to his desk. Jisung clung tightly to Chan’s belt all the way through the ship tour and then down to the hold where most of the sailors slept. There were beds and hammocks scattered about.

“There aren’t any beds open so you’ll both get hammocks,” said Seunghyun, “stay out of the crew’s way and there won’t be any problems.”

“And if someone causes problems without us initiating it, how’s the work?” asked Chan.

“Long as no one dies, the captain doesn’t care that much,” said Seunghyun, “just don’t fight with anyone with high ranks, there shouldn’t be a reason to, captain doesn’t allow that sort of behavior within the inner circle of the crew. Get some sleep. Expect to work tomorrow.” That said he left the two of them on their own.

“ _Where are we sleeping?_ ” asked Jisung quietly looking at Chan, still holding tightly to him. Chan gestured to the two hammocks that Seunghyun had pointed out.

“Do you want to cram into the same one or do you want your own?” asked Chan.

“I want to sleep with you,” insisted Jisung quickly. Chan nodded and climbed up into the hammock carefully slipping his sword off and setting it on the ground, before turning to help Jisung up into the hammock. The younger boy curled up on top of him easily and Chan unbuckled the sword around Jisung’s waist and adjusted it to that the sword was resting against Jisung’s back and easily in grabbing range for Chan if they needed it.

Jisung adjusted surprisingly quickly to working on the ship over the next couple weeks. His skin started to tan and he started eating a little better, the circles under his eyes were still extremely dark, but his bones weren’t nearly as easy to see as they had been. He was always a couple steps behind Chan and the crew was used to seeing the two of them together and had taken to calling Jisung Chan’s shadow. For the most part the crew had taken a liking to Chan, and several of them had offered Jisung help when he was learning new things, though there were just as many of the crew that wanted nothing to do with them, claimed there had to be something wrong with them. It had still surprised them both when one of the higher ranked men close to the captain had offered to help Chan teach Jisung to fight not only sail. They had both ended up learning a lot from him and Jisung felt much more confident in his ability to defend himself after. Jisung had taken to sailing easily and Chan could tell that Jisung was going with him from now on, Taeil’s dream had been right, it was time to start building his crew, it was time to stop jumping from ship to ship and time to start sailing his own destiny. Six weeks into their journey Jisung was finally starting to look healthy, he was still much too small and jumpy, and hesitated to talk to anyone. He and Chan were up in the rigging Chan giving him instructions as they worked, the sea breeze twisting around them, and a crew mate called down from the crow’s nest.

“Ship on the horizon! Moving fast!”

“Colors?” yelled Seunghyun from the helm.

“None yet,” called the sailor.

“How fast are they moving?” yelled Seunghyun.

“Fast! Impossibly fast! They’ll catch up in minutes!” yelled the sailor.

“Get the captain,” instructed Seunghyun to one of the others. In only a handful of minutes the captain was on the deck next to Seunghyun.

“Eclipse colors!” yelled the sailor, “JYP alliance ship on the horizon!”

“Run up the flag!” yelled the captain, “prepare to be boarded. Bang, front and center be ready to leave.”

“We’re jumping ship again?” asked Jisung looking at Chan who nodded.

“My brother’s on that ship,” said Chan nodding, “you’ll like it much better.”

“You aren’t leaving me,” said Jisung quickly, “one of the powder monkeys, said you don’t take anyone with you after you jump ship again. You aren’t leaving me behind.”

“You’re coming with me from now on,” said Chan in agreement, “we’re building a crew of our own.” Jisung nodded and shifted to straddle the beam he had been crouched on turning to watch the approaching ship.

“Will there be a fight?” asked Jisung.

“Probably not,” said Chan shaking his head. “Captain G, will yell at Captain JB there might be some threats tossed back and forth, but there won’t be a fight since they’re pretty much just going to transfer us from this ship to that ship.” The Eclipse pulled up alongside the Ego and the boy in their crow’s nest brightened and shouted down to the man at the helm, having them match the Ego’s pace. The captain of the ship joined the man at the helm, his coat and hat making it obvious who he was as he strode to the side to call over at them.

“Yah! Dragon, you have one of ours up in your rigging?” he called.

“Aye, picked him and his shadow up off a Spanish trade ship. Please take your ghost story off my ship,” yelled G-Dragon over the side also moving to the edge of the ship to be nearest he could to JB. Chan tied the last knot tightly and shifted to start climbing down the rigging, nudging Jisung to go first.

“Use a grapple,” called Seunghyun down to them, “do try to stay out of our waters from now on.” Chan gave a lazy salute their direction and managed to get Jisung holding tightly to the rope and then both of them were swinging over the side and Jisung was stumbling onto the deck of the other ship, rolling to take the impact.

“Hoist sail! Full speed!” called Captain JB and the crew around them scrambled to follow orders. Chan got Jisung up to his feet.

“Hold onto the rail, I’m gonna help us get going,” said Chan, “hyung will want to meet you.” Jisung nodded and grabbed onto the rail crouching to keep his balance as the ship lurched forward at a speed it logically shouldn’t. Chan took it in stride as he scaled the mast and headed up into the rigging to help the crew with the sail. Once the ship was under way again and under control Chan rejoined Jisung on the deck carefully prying his fingers off the rail.

“Hey, you’re okay, I’ve got you,” said Chan. 

“Course I’m okay, I’m with you,” said Jisung nodding, still reaching to grab onto Chan’s belt, a habit he still hadn’t let go of.

“Chan! We haven’t seen you in months! Heard talk in Nassu that you dropped some colony kid on TY’s head,” called the man at the helm. Chan moved them towards him as the boy in the crow’s nest scrambled to change out with one of the other sailors and started climbing down.

“Mark, yeah,” said Chan nodding, “pulled him off the British Navy ship. Sung, this is Jackson-hyung, he’s Chinese. Hyung, this is Jisung.”

“We can’t take on a new crewmate this time around, Channie,” said the captain looking over Jisung, “I’m sorry. We could get you both to Tortuga, but we’re after treasure and can’t be picking up kids that don’t know what they’re doing.”

“Jisung’s staying with me,” said Chan. The boy that had been in the crows nest hugged Chan tightly.

“Channie! Hi, I’ve missed you. You look happy, you’re still not any taller,” declared the boy.

“Hi, Bam,” said Chan relaxing instantly. “I’ve missed you too. Sounds like you’re on an adventure. This is Jisung.”

“Hiya,” greeted BamBam waving slightly and then grinning. “Oh. Oh. It’s time isn’t it? You’re building a crew.” Chan nodded.

“I need to get to Tortuga,” he said.

“You can’t man a ship with only two men, Chan,” said JB.

“No, but I could with three,” said Chan, “I only need one more. The wind says Tortuga, so we’re going to Tortuga.”

“Where’d you find this kid anyhow?” asked Bambam, “I’m Bambam, by the way. You’re not the kid that Ten said Chan dropped off on the Whiplash.”

“He’s not,” said Chan shaking his head. “Found him in Bahia Dolorosa. Had to get him out.”

“Bahia Dolorosa?” asked the captain surprised. “Heard they’ve got some kind of novelty fortune teller they call the son of the devil. That true, kid?” Jisung’s grip on Chan’s belt tightened.

“Not anymore,” said Chan cocking his head eyes hard, daring JB to say something. JB nodded.

“Take him to Mark,” he said, “Mark’ll know what to do. You’re going to need help.” Chan nodded. And Jisung found himself following Chan off the helm and towards the map room. A man was bent over one of the maps on the desk, he was a little shorter and slighter than the rest of the crew Jisung had seen so far and when he looked up, his eyes were a hazy gray color.

“Chan,” he said smiling, “about that time isn’t it? Oh. That’s why I couldn’t see your first mate. Building your crew, yeah? Hello. I’m Mark. You have no idea what you’re doing, do you?”

“This is Jisung,” said Chan nodding. “Sung, this is Mark-hyung. He’s an oracle.”

“Not quite the same magic as yours,” said Mark nodding, “but similar enough that we should be able to sort yours out. Here sit down, let’s compare notes, yeah?” Jisung looked at him awed.

“There are other people like me?” he asked hesitantly.

“Definitely,” said Mark grinning, “not exactly like you, but those of us that can see bits of the future in one way or another exist. Let’s see if we can figure out how yours works so it’s not hurting you.”

“You couldn’t see him?” asked Chan cocking his head. That was odd. Mark had always been able to see things like that, had even told Chan that he was waiting for seven others. Most clairsensitive people such as Mark and Jisung couldn’t even be that specific.

“Oh no. Most of the time we can’t see events involving each other,” said Mark waving a hand. “Which is why I can’t tell you specifics about most of your adventures, Channie.”

“You’ve always been specific before,” said Chan and Mark shook his head.

“No, like real specifics. I can’t tell you where you’re finding anyone or what adventures you’re going on or even what you’ll name your ship. I knew captain’s name for the ship before he did,” said Mark, “it’s always had it’s limits you know. But it’s very odd that I really can’t tell you much of anything about your future. Jisung here must stick pretty close to you. Okay, let’s see what we can do.”

While they sail with the crew of the Eclipse, the dark circles under Jisung’s eyes lessen slightly and he starts sleeping marginally better, nightmares of futures he couldn’t do anything about or even begin to make sense of no longer keeping him awake as Mark taught him more about how to control his magic. Captain JB’s very intimidating first mate takes one look at Jisung, sighs really deep and drags him to the cook to find as much fattening food as was on board, while complaining to Chan that he couldn’t keep bringing malnourished kids on board his ship it was giving him gray hairs. By the time the ship’s crew stopped in Tortuga for a couple days, Jisung was closer to a healthy weight than he probably had ever been though the long sleeved shirt that BamBam had given him when his last one from the Ego had torn sparring with one of the crew members, still practically drowned him. He had ended up using one of the cook’s knives to cut a slit up the side of it so he could tie it around his waist instead of it hanging down like a dress. Chan had helped him cut away parts of the bottom of the shirt to wrap around his wrists and hands to fully hide his scars, as well as to keep the sleeves out of the way. BamBam had followed the two of them down to the dock of Tortuga to join them until he headed back to the ship for the night, since the crew was spending a couple days in Tortuga. He smirked at Jisung when he and Chan joined him on the dock.

“That’s quite the fashion statement, Jisung-ah,” he said and Jisung shrugged.

“At least it’s functional,” he stated, “and it could be worse.”

“I don’t think it’s that bad,” said Chan shaking his head, “it has a very distressed look that seems to fit.”

“You just need a decent sash belt to hide that knot,” said BamBam eyeing the knot where Jisung had pulled the shirt tighter. His eyes fell on the tear drop shaped necklace that Jisung always wore around his neck.

“You could sell that for a really good price here and use the money for real clothes and decent boots,” said BamBam thoughtfully.

“No,” said Jisung quickly, hand coming up to wrap tightly around the necklace.

“Why?” asked BamBam. “What’s so special about it?”

“It’s like having the sea with me all the time,” said Jisung, “Channie-hyung gave it to me the first night I was officially free.”

“I mean technically I stole it,” said Chan shaking his head, “I think I’ve got enough to get a sash, but I don’t have enough for boots.”

“Then we steal some,” said Jisung.

“Not here,” said BamBam quickly. “No stealing in Tortuga or no one will buy your goods for money. You steal in Tortuga and end up with a pile of worthless shit that no one will buy or trade for.”

“I know, Channie-hyung told me,” said Jisung nodding, reaching to wrap his fingers around Chan’s belt absently as they stepped into a more crowded street, not wanting to get separated from him.

“I meant the next time we come across another ship,” said Jisung in explanation.

“You two have a plan?” asked Bambam looking about them interested in every store they passed.

“Maybe hop on a merchant ship here, steal a ship in the next port,” said Chan shrugging, “we should look for somewhere to stay the night though, I didn’t see any merchants at the docks.”

“I thought Tortuga was a pirate town,” said Jisung.

“It is. But there are a couple merchant ships that stop in to trade with Tortuga and the Navy as well. It’s smart really, then neither group wants to hurt you,” said Chan nodding.

“Oh,” said Jisung nodding. “What happens if none of them stop in before we run out of money?” Chan shrugged.

“Find another ship, do some pirate stuff and come back,” said Chan.

“Mmm,” said BamBam humming, “you’re going to have to get used to that, Jisung-ah. Channie and I, we’re a lot alike you know? And there’s a reason we’re on the seas. Everything comes back to the wind eventually. Just floating on an open ocean going as the wind blows. Most of the time Chan’s plans are going to be very vague, as the wind blows sort of things. Captain hates it. Between me and Mark-hyung we sort of drive him crazy. You’re just gonna have to trust that things work out.” Chan shrugged.

“I’ve been living wherever the wind takes me for years now,” he said in explanation, “it’s how I ended up in Bahia Dolorosa. It’s not let me down yet. We ended up here for a reason. We’ll find it before we have to leave. Trust me.” Jisung nodded.

“That’s not exactly hard,” said Jisung shaking his head. “I already followed you through two pirate ships infamous for being deadly. A couple nights in Tortuga without a real plan isn’t that bad.” Chan laughed and tugged him slightly closer by his shirt sleeve, careful not to grab his wrist. The wind fluttered around them briefly and Jisung couldn’t help but feel like it felt like an embrace rather than the light breeze it had been for most of the day. He wondered briefly what BamBam had been implying by saying he and Chan were a lot alike. Clearly they were both pirates, they had different accents and were obviously not from the same places. Jisung knew Chan was Korean and from Australia and BamBam had told him he was from Thailand. Yet both of them knew each other better than they knew any of the others and claimed they were brothers. There was something more going on, but Jisung wasn’t ready to dig if they weren’t ready to offer the outright explanation. Chan had done more for him than anyone else had ever done, he had no problem blindly trusting that everything would work out. Even if it didn’t, Chan would make sure he was okay.

Tortuga was wild and chaotic and Jisung liked the insanity of it. It made it easy to blend into the crowd. No one asked too many questions. He and Chan were just another two pirates among the lot. It was dangerous, that was certain, a dangerous, lawless, filthy place of sinners, just as every Navy man spoke of it in horror would claim. But it was free. And it wasn’t like Jisung was any less safe here than he would be anywhere else with magic like his. At least in Tortuga he wasn’t likely to be accused of witchcraft and hung by the church. True to the tales it was a pirate port, but there were still citizens that lived in Tortuga, people that never left. The Eclipse had left the day after they docked and Chan and Jisung had stayed behind. BamBam had promised to tell them all about the treasure hunt the next time they crossed paths and Jisung had been surprised to get a hug from the older pirate before they left. He had enjoyed the next couple days in Tortuga with Chan, but they were running out of money to pay for the inn and no ship had come to port yet. And Jisung could tell Chan thought it was time to move on. He was fidgety and couldn’t seem to keep still. He had done that right before the pirate attack on the trade ship and then again right before the Eclipse had shown up and the night before they were dropped off in Tortuga. When they ran out of money the last day they spent the day wandering Tortuga as they had been before finding themselves in a tavern for the night. Not one of the more expensive ones farther in the town, but one of the truly terrible ones full of fights and deaths that were right on the docks.

“Stay close,” said Chan glancing at Jisung, “you’ve got your weapons in reach? Keep your necklace tucked under your shirt. Do not for any reason at all, give any impression that you might be even vaguely magic, especially your visions.” Jisung nodded and tucked his necklace under his shirt. He tightened the knot on one of his arm wraps and Chan led the way into the tavern. It was dark inside, lit only by a couple of scattered candles. It was full to the brim with pirates and townsfolk alike, all drunk and loud. There was singing and laughter and fighting in multiple languages. Chan led the way to the bar and bought them both a drink from the man behind the bar. He seemed to laugh easy with the patrons but he looked Chan and Jisung up and down a bit surprised. Jisung kept one eye on him curious as Chan scanned the tavern around them. Chan stepped aside as more patrons came up to the bar to order drinks and Jisung followed as Chan decided to head a little further along and came to the wall by the tables gambling. Chan was watching the games as Jisung kept watching the owner of the tavern interacting with the patrons.

“You know how to play, Sung?” asked Chan glancing at him and Jisung hummed and shook his head.

“No, hyung,” he said, “I’ve never played anything.” Chan nodded but his eyebrows furrowed and he followed Jisung’s gaze to the owner of the tavern.

“You thought he was weird too,” said Chan nodding. “Might just not get many Asian pirates in this particular tavern.”

“I don’t think that was it,” said Jisung shaking his head and then glancing around the room. The tavern did seem to be predominantly British and Spanish pirates, not surprising since they were in the Caribbean and both pirates seemed to think they ruled the Caribbean.

“Are you wanting to play, hyung?” asked Jisung, “I can stay close and not play.” Chan shrugged.

“Not really,” said Chan, “seems that luck’s not on the side of the guest in this tavern.”

“Oh?” asked Jisung glancing away from the owner of the tavern to look around and realize that the pirates gambling did all seem to be losing more than winning when playing the locals or any of the tavern employees.

“Wouldn’t be unusual,” said Chan shrugging, “it’s a good way for tavern’s to make money. They need to make a living too.” Jisung nodded. It did make sense. He looked back to the owner of the tavern and frowned. There was a boy about their age behind the counter now talking to him as the owner looked through a bag. The boy looked frightened and the tavern owner was angry.

“Hyung,” said Jisung gesturing towards the tavern owner. Chan frowned watching the interaction and watching as the tavern owner smacked the boy harshly in the head, sending him slamming into the counter top. He shoved the boy harshly towards the kitchen pointing and clearly ordering him around.

“That didn’t look good,” agreed Chan nodding.

“ _Aye, you two just standin’ there speakin’ you’re funny language? Or are you lot gonna actually participate in a little fun?_ ” asked a pirate approaching them.

“ _Just standing, mate,_ ” said Chan turning to look at him lazily. “ _Not much sittin’ room if you haven’t noticed. We ain’t in your way, so what’s your problem?_ ”

“ _My problem is the disrespect brats like you have for real pirates like me,_ ” said the man and Chan rolled his eyes.

“ _You don’t want to fuck with us, mate,_ ” he said, “ _and I don’t want to fight tonight, so go back to drinking with your mates, yeah?_ ” Jisung’s head was telling him to watch the pirate in front of him, the immediate threat, but his gut was saying he needed to watch the boy in the kitchen, and his gut was what always kept him out of trouble so that’s what he listened to. Chan could deal with the British pirates.

“ _A couple little boys aren’t exactly a threat,_ ” said the pirate grinning, “ _you don’t even have any crew symbols. Bet you ain’t even here with a crew, got left behind. No one’s going to help you._ ”

“ _Mate, I don’t need anyone to help me,_ ” said Chan raising an eyebrow. “ _Keep trying to threaten us and see where it gets you. Do you even have a ship?_ ”

“ _Aye, my ship is the fastest in the waters, small though it may be, she’s a real speed demon. The Lilith, my true love,_ ” said the pirate, “ _you know the two of you would really make better whores than pirates, too pretty to be pirates._ ” He tried to grab Jisung’s face but he was clearly drunk and Chan moved faster, catching his wrist and twisting it quickly breaking his wrist and then shoving him back harshly.

“ _Fuck off,_ ” he snapped. “ _Try again and I’ll slit your miserable throat._ ” The boy in the kitchen had paused in helping cook food to watch and got smacked over the head by the cook for it and then smacked again by the owner of the tavern and yelled at. Jisung could hear him calling the boy names from here as he stepped into the kitchen. He ended up dragging the boy out by the back of his collar and throwing him out onto the street, pointing down it and yelling at him not to come back until he had something actually worth keeping him alive for.

“Hyung,” said Jisung pulling Chan’s attention away from the British pirate on the floor. His crew seemed to find it righteously hysterical that he’d gotten his wrist broken for attempting to hurt a couple of much shorter boys. Chan caught the tail end of the tavern owner yelling at the boy. The boy didn’t move immediately as the tavern owner slammed the door shut on him. Chan stepped over the pirate on the floor, Jisung following, and walked over to the tavern owner now behind the bar again.

“ _Back for more, boys?_ ” he asked friendly again.

“ _Mmm, maybe,_ ” said Chan shrugging, “ _seems you have trouble with your employees?_ ”

“ _Just that worthless wretch,_ ” said the man shaking his head. “ _Orphaned, you see, and Melissa up the street that keeps track of most of the orphans that end up here, she begged me to take the boy as my apprentice, swore he’d be good at making a living. All he does is leech off of us. Can’t even properly follow orders, he doesn’t speak a lick of English or any language I know. Decent thief, but mostly his tricks are useless in a place like this._ ”

“ _So you shove him around?_ ” asked Chan. The man shrugged.

“ _The least he can do is make a decent punching bag,_ ” he said shrugging. “ _And it’s not like he can really go anywhere._ ” Chan nodded.

“ _While we’d love to stick around, we really should find a place to stay for the night, good luck,_ ” said Chan nodding and turning. The tavern owner shrugged and turned to the next patron as Chan and Jisung left.

“We have a plan now?” asked Jisung as Chan looked around the street.

“We’re taking the boy with us,” said Chan nodding, “do you see him?” Jisung frowned and shook his head looking around the street.

“What about the ship situation? We still don’t have somewhere to go,” said Jisung. Chan smirked.

“On the contrary. There’s a lovely ship called the Lilith in port that’s apparently the fastest on the sea and captained by a rapist and a pedophile,” said Chan, “I think it’d be fantastic to commandeer said ship.” Jisung couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled out of him at that.

“Sounds like a plan, captain,” he said and Chan’s smile could have lit up the entire street.

“Oh, I think he’s there,” said Jisung gesturing further down the street to where a lump that looked like it might be a person was huddled against the side of a building. Chan nodded and jogged down the street towards him, Jisung hurrying to catch up. It was indeed the boy, he was shaking in the cold and his left eye was bruising black, his lip was split and he looked exhausted and starving. He also was wearing no shoes which had to be brutal in this weather. Chan crouched down in front of him.

“ _Hello, the tavern owner said you don’t speak English?_ ” asked Chan and the boy grimaced and looked at the two of them concerned.

“ _No English, sorry,_ ” he said quickly.

“ _Hablas Espanol?_ ” tried Jisung and the boy again shook his head.

“You speak anything else?” asked Chan looking at Jisung, “I know a little Greek but you don’t really find that on pirate ships.”

“Basic Malay,” said Jisung frowning, “but not much.”

“You’re Korean,” said the boy shocked and both Jisung and Chan looked at him surprised.

“Oh,” said Chan, “well that makes this way easier.”

“Why didn’t we try that in the first place?” asked Jisung shaking his head. “It’s the one we both speak, that’s what we should have started with.” Chan laughed.

“Right, I’m Chan, this is Jisung,” said Chan, “would you like to come with us?”

“With you?” asked the boy. “I can’t I’m apprenticed to the tavern owner. I can’t leave until he frees me of the apprenticeship.”

“You’re in Tortuga. There are no laws in Tortuga. Who says you can’t just leave?” asked Jisung. The boy looked at him surprised as if he hadn’t considered that.

“Oh,” he said nodding. “Right. But leaving would mean being on a pirate ship and I’d not be much more than a slave there too. Can’t be much difference.”

“Well you’d be with us so that’s quite a lot of a difference,” said Chan nodding. “It’s just me and Jisung-ah. We’re stealing a British ship tonight and heading off.”

“I don’t know how to sail,” said the boy.

“Neither did I,” said Jisung shrugging, “hyung helped me runaway from my home and taught me to sail along the way. You want to be free, yeah? The sea’s the best way to do that.”

“We don’t have much, but we’ll share what we have,” said Chan nodding, “and we’ll steal what we don’t.” The boy smirked.

“I’m pretty good at stealing,” he said, “I’m a great pickpocket, the best at sleight of hand, and a better gambler than anyone else in Tortuga.”

“Better cheater you mean,” said Jisung.

“That’s the only way to play,” said the boy shrugging. “Alright, let’s go. How are we taking this ship?”

“Entire crew’s in the tavern,” said Chan shrugging, “we’re walking right on board and leaving.”

“There’ll be food?” asked the boy.

“Yes,” said Chan nodding, “no one’s going hungry if I can help it. Food and drink and we’ll see about finding you warmer clothes.” The boy nodded.

“I’m in,” he said brushing his hands off and standing up. “Let’s go. I’ve always hated everyone in this town. I’m Seo Changbin.”

“Well, Changbin, glad to have you on board,” said Chan cheerfully, “let’s steal a ship.” Jisung bounced slightly.

“We have a real crew now,” he said brightly. “Aish, hyung, and we’re about to have our own ship. Things are coming together.” Chan laughed and nodded as he led the way to the docks. It only took a couple minutes as the tavern was nearly on the water.

“There?” asked Jisung pointing to a small ship. Chan nodded reading the right name on it.

“It really is empty,” said Changbin looking around.

“Double check that it is before we leave,” said Chan nodding. Once they got up onto the deck they scattered to make sure the ship truly had been abandoned for the night before meeting up on the deck.

“Time to go then, boys, before whoever is actually supposed to be keeping watch gets back,” said Chan nodding. “Hoist anchor, drop sails, Jisungie, can you walk Changbin through everything while I steer us out of here?”

“Aye, captain,” agreed Jisung eagerly, “come on, Changbin-ssi, we need to get the anchor up and drop the sails.” Changbin hurried to follow instructions and it didn’t take them long to get out onto the open ocean. Chan called more instructions to Jisung who followed them quickly, climbing up into the rigging to do so.

“Alright, Changbin, hold on tightly to something. Jisung, brace yourself, we’re pulling into the wind stream quickly,” called Chan. And Jisung, who had gotten used to the abnormal speed of the Eclipse, did as told and prepared for a sudden increase in speed. And just like the Eclipse the ship shot forward into the night at a speed that truly should be unattainable, if not faster since the Lilith was a much smaller ship. Jisung decided that however Chan and BamBam were connected it had to do with how fast the ships sailed, somehow there was magic involved and it must be the two of them. Chan would tell him eventually. But for now, all Jisung really needed was to trust him. He had blindly trusted Chan so far and it had given him freedom and happiness in a way that nothing ever had. In a way he had thought was unattainable. He didn’t mind blindly trusting him a little more, and he wondered how Changbin might adjust to living life on the sea. While he didn’t see anything specific, he could feel it in his bones, that this was right and good and that Jisung was exactly where he ought to be.

“We’re not calling it the Lilith right?” called Jisung and Chan laughed.

“I was thinking Levanter,” he said.

“Levanter,” repeated Changbin to himself. “I like it.” Jisung nodded. The Levanter was freedom and home and it had only been their’s for all of ten minutes. Jisung couldn’t wait to see what came next.

**Author's Note:**

> nct will be seen throughout this series as in world they're one of the most terrifying crews out there at the time. 
> 
> bts and exo are both mentioned as they are also in world big players in the pirate game. they will not be featured in the series, or i don't have a plan for them. they might be mentioned again but probably won't actually appear. 
> 
> big bang will not appear again, but them, Shinee, and 2PM are like the original terrifying pirates, the ones that even the other pirates don't really want to cross paths with as they have been around much longer than most pirates 
> 
> there's a little mention of like alliances (i think that's what i called them) basically in world there's a pirate king structure kind of like how pirates of the caribbean has one, and certain crews tend to align under the same pirate 'section' where they work together. but they're pirates so there's not exactly a lot of trust there in the alliance. 
> 
> chan's backstory is going to be revealed fully eventually i promise. all that really needs to be cleared up for this fic is he and BamBam used to jump from ship to ship together before BamBam joined the Got7 crew. and that they do have the same magic 
> 
> i'm working on hyunjin's story next so that will happen when it happens (school ugh) 
> 
> thank you all for reading! i love you all and i'm going to go to sleep now cause it's 3am and i should have gone to sleep instead of finishing this :)   
> who allowed me to adult????


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